Essay on Institutions to Rehabilitate Juvenile Delinquents – Preventive measures alone are not enough. Rehabilitative or reformative measures are also needed to solve juvenile delinquency. Some of the institutions aimed at rehabilitating the juvenile delinquents are there in India. They may be briefly examined here.
1. Juvenile Courts:
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Juvenile Courts are established in order to treat separately juvenile delinquents from other adult criminals. Juvenile Courts have their own building, judicial bench and other arrangements. Juvenile delinquents cannot be tried in ordinary courts.
Whenever the juvenile courts are not there they could however be tried in other courts but on a separate day and at a fixed time so as to keep them separately from other adult criminals. Juvenile offenders cannot be chained and they cannot be produced to the courts by the police in their uniform. No advocates are needed to plead for them.
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The main intention behind this special treatment is to create positive feelings in the minds of juveniles. As per the report of the Union Ministry of Education, in 1950 there were only 39 Juvenile Courts in India.
2. Remand Homes:
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When a child is arrested under the Act, he is produced before the magistrate within 24 hours and kept in Remand Home till the case is investigated. The child is kept in Remand Home until the final disposal of the case.
Sometimes persons convicted are sent to Remand Homes for a few days and released later. These homes are mostly managed by Private Welfare agencies with the governmental assistance. The precise number of such Remand Homes in India is not known.
3. Certified Schools:
Certified Schools are established mainly to give some general education and technical training to the children. Here the children are sent for long-term treatment. They are run by voluntary bodies or local authorities with the financial assistance of the government and the public. There are two types of schools:
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(i) Junior Schools for boys under 12 and
(ii) Senior Schools for boys under 16.
The children are confined here for about 2 to 3 years. The school authorities can also make early discharge. After their release they are put under the charge of a Welfare or Probation Officer who watches their activities.
4. Auxiliary Homes:
These Auxiliary Homes are attached to Certified Schools just like remand homes. Here the convicted delinquents are kept for some time and studied by a social worker. Later on they are sent to certified schools depending upon the nature and attitude of the young offender.
5. Foster Homes:
Foster Homes are mostly run by the voluntary agencies and the governments give grants to them. They are specially created for delinquent children under 19 who cannot be sent to approved or certified schools.
6. Reformatory Schools:
In states where there are no Children Acts, Reformatory Schools are established. They are meant for the education and vocational training of delinquent children. The young convicted offenders below 15 years are detained here for 3 to 7 years. The delinquents are removed from bad environments through these schools.
7. Borstal Institutions:
Under Borstal system special treatment is provided for adolescent offenders between the ages of 15 to 21 years. Borstal institutions are of two types:
(i) open type and
(ii) closed type.
‘Open’ institution is a camp in the open country with no surrounding wall. Closed institution is a converted prison building in which maximum security is given to inmates. Though it is called ‘Closed’ institution most of its activities meant for children are carried on outside the building.
Young offenders are very often sent to Borstal institution for rehabilitation rather than kept under imprisonment. The term of Borstal is 2 to 3 years and in any case it should not exceed 5 years. If the offenders are found to be unruly and incorrigible they are sent to jails.
Separate arrangement is there to give training to boys and girls. The training, physical exercises and education that are given here are very tough so as to prevent the inmates from committing offences again.
8. Fit Persons Institutions and Uncared Children Institutions:
These are the two nongovernment institutions managed by private bodies and philanthropists. These institutions give refuge and protection to the destitute, neglected children, children in the pre-delinquent stage, and to the delinquent children. Such children and their activities are supervised by the appointed officers.
Conclusion:
A grave problem such as juvenile delinquency cannot be solved by means of legislations and government efforts alone. As far as India is concerned in many of the states Children Acts have not been effectively enforced. Some of these Acts themselves have defects. Official machinery is not effectively used for controlling this problem.
Governmental as well as private agencies must work hand in hand with all sincerity and seriousness to find an effective remedy for the problem of juvenile delinquency. The public attitude towards juvenile delinquents must also change. A juvenile delinquent is a product of unwholesome environment congenial for the development of his faculties in conformity with social expectations.